The Slammer | Sonora Desert Bighorn Sheep Hunting

Story By: Thayne Alred

As a young boy, before I was old enough to carry a gun, I would look forward to going with my grandfather to hunt pheasants in the fields. As I got older, he taught me how to shoot, and I hunted many years at his side in those same fields. After my grandfather passed, I continued to hunt birds as well as deer in the mountains of Utah until 1986, when my wife and I moved to Cleveland for my postgraduate training. In Cleveland, I joined a medical group, and one of my partners, John, was a die-hard hunter. We started hunting together locally, and eventually we had funds available to hunt the western states as well as internationally.

We booked a hunt with Dickson Outfitters for Dall sheep and moose in the Yukon. We flew in on a float plane to a base camp and then traveled on horseback to spike camps. I was successful getting my Dall sheep on August 5, 1998. I did not have any goal for getting a grand slam and just enjoyed hunting as opportunities arose.

John and I went on many other hunts together, including two trips to Africa, and eventually had an opportunity to hunt Stone sheep in British Columbia with Kinaskan Lake Outfitters and the Creyke brothers. This was a very difficult hunt, and I finally shot my ram on the last day of the hunt two hours before sunset. The date was August 6, 2001.

I have applied for bighorn sheep in most of the western states for many years. In 2011, with 17 points, I drew a Rocky tag in Wyoming Area 3. I had hunted previously with Mike Wakkuri of Elk Mountain Outfitters, and he agreed to guide me on this hunt. I was fortunate to take a good ram in the high mountains of Area 3 on September 26, 2011. With three of the four rams for my slam, I was also applying for every Desert sheep tag I could find. I drew a Devil’s Canyon tag in Utah in 2023, hunted twelve days, saw two rams, and missed a shot at one from 300 yards. Coming off that disappointment, Cabela’s Signature Events offered a Sonora Desert sheep hunt for December of 2025, which I jumped at and was able to secure after getting the details from the folks at Cabela’s. I asked my son, Ian, to come, and he was able to get time off work to join me.

During the summer I started physical training as well as shooting to prepare for the hunt. I contacted Rodrigo at GURO Outfitters in Sonora, and he agreed to let me use his rifle on the hunt and gave me the details of how the hunt would proceed.

November 29 came quickly, and I flew to Phoenix, where I met Ian as he came in on his flight. I had also requested that Dusan Smetana—a photographer and host for Cabela’s as well as a dear friend—join us on the hunt, and he’d agreed. GURO picked us up at the airport, and we had about a six-hour drive to Puerto Lobos, where we would be staying. After unloading, we met the crew and had dinner cooked by Mario, their chef. We planned on getting up at 5:30 a.m. for breakfast and leaving by 6 a.m. to start hunting at sunrise.

The next morning, we drove to a lodge on the ranch and set up a piece of plywood for a target at 100 yards so I could shoot Rodrigo’s gun. It put three shots within a quarter-sized bull’s-eye, and the gun was very comfortable to shoot. Shortly after getting into the mountains, we spotted two rams, one of which was decent, but Rodrigo said it was too small to shoot. We hunted hard for the next five days, from sunrise to sunset, glassing mile after mile of mountain range. We saw sheep every day, but they were only ewes or small rams.

Rodrigo said they had had a tremendous rainstorm ten days before I arrived, allowing the desert to bloom and giving the sheep plenty of water and food. We concluded they were not moving as a result of this. On day six we decided to move to Caborca. The guides had scouted an area to the north but had not seen any good rams, so we headed south. Once again, we hunted hard every day without any success finding a decent ram to stalk.

The eighth day was the last day of the hunt, and we headed out with great expectations. Once again, we hunted hard and glassed many square miles of mountains and desert without spotting a “shooter ram”. We returned dejected to the lodge that evening, and Rodrigo asked if I could stay another day to try another area. I was able to change my flights, but Ian had to leave for work.

The morning of the ninth day, we got up early and drove to a new area east and south of Caborca. We started glassing at sunrise but didn’t spot any sheep. We drove up into the mountains into a bowl surrounded by some steep cliffs. As we started glassing, I saw a ewe standing on the edge of a cliff near the top. As I watched her, I saw a good ram walking up to the same cliff and told Rodrigo I had spotted a ewe and a ram. As we got the spotting scope on him, we concluded he was a good ram. At that moment, the other group of guides radioed and said they had found five rams in another area and that we should come over there. We jumped in the truck and drove to meet them.

There were five rams, two of which were shooters, but there was a ewe in front of them and two ewes to their right, standing guard. We decided to try and make a stalk in a dry riverbed below them. We spent the next two hours making our way up the riverbed and through thick brush in the bottom. We got within 700 yards before the rams became nervous and trotted up and over the top.

We headed back down to the trucks and decided to go after the ram I had spotted. When we arrived back at the previous site, it took us a few minutes, but we found the ram, now with several ewes and a smaller ram to the right of where they had been. We spent time figuring the best way to approach them and then headed up. It was very steep, but we worked our way up another dry riverbed through very thick brush. About halfway up, Rodrigo spotted the ewes 300 yards above us. We got situated, and I set up a gun rest with our packs. I could see the ewes and the small ram but not the big ram. One of the guides had gone above us and could see the big ram above the ewes. He said the ram had bedded down behind a tree. I kept them in my scope for an hour and a half. My right arm fell asleep and my legs started to cramp, but I did not want to miss the opportunity if the ram stood up.

Eventually he did stand, but he was behind the tree, and I could not get a shot as he walked up the mountain into the thick brush. Our spotter kept us informed where the ram was, and, after about ten minutes, Rodrigo spotted him between two large saguaro cactus at 296 yards. I could not see him from the bottom, so we scrambled up the riverbank to a higher spot. I threw the pack on a large boulder and got set up. Rodrigo guided me to where the ram was. I finally got him in the scope but could only see the head. Eventually he turned right, and, as I turned the scope up to 25X, I could see his front shoulder and butt. Rodrigo could only see the butt. I said I had a shot, and he said to take the shot if I was comfortable. I put the crosshairs on the front shoulder and squeezed the trigger. I slammed another round into the chamber but could not see anything in the scope. We got a report from our spotter that the ram was hit and that he could see blood. A few seconds later, he said the ram rolled, and I had my ram! I was more relieved than excited, and we were all smiling and fist-bumping in celebration.

We climbed the mountain—it was very steep—and eventually came up on the ram. It was larger and older than I had thought, and what a feeling of relief as well as excitement at having completed my slam. Dusan spent time getting great photos, after which Rodrigo and I headed back to the trucks. I felt a sense of calm as well as fulfillment as we ate dinner back at the lodge that evening. My only regret was that Ian had to leave and did not get to experience the last day. Returning home, I was very grateful for my success and, especially, for all of those involved in helping me to be successful!